David Popescu

David Popescu (25 May 1886 – 11 April 1955) was a Romanian general during World War II and Interior Minister in 1940.

Biography He was born in 1886 in Comarnic, Prahova County, Kingdom of Romania, the son of Iulian (a priest) and Maria. He attended primary school in his hometown, and then went to the in Ploiești. He started military service in 1905, advancing to sergeant by 1906. After attending the Military School for Infantry and Cavalry Officers, he graduated in 1908 with the rank of second lieutenant; after further studies at the Special Infantry School, he was promoted to captain in 1912. In 1913 he fought with the 7th Regiment Vânători in the Second Balkan War. Once Romania entered World War I on the side of the Allies in August 1916, Popescu fought in Dobruja as a battalion commander of the 40th Infantry Regiment.

Popescu served as the Minister of Internal Affairs in the Gigurtu cabinet from July 4 to September 4, 1940, and in the First Antonescu cabinet from September 4 to September 14, 1940. In early July he helped manage the flow of refugees from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in the wake of the Soviet annexation of those Romanian territories. On August 30, Popescu participated in a meeting of King Carol II's Crown Council, where he was (alongside Gheorghe Mihail, Nicolae Păiș, and ) one of the four out of five military representatives who recommended accepting the provisions of the Second Vienna Award, by which Romania were to cede Northern Transylvania to Hungary.

On January 10, 1941, he was named commanding officer of the 11th Infantry Division of the Romanian Armed Forces. On May 9, 1941, he was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania, Commander rank. Romania joined Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941 in order to reclaim the lost territories of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Popescu fought with his division in Southern Bessarabia and at the Siege of Odessa. On August 20 he was removed from the command of the division, and on August 31 he was dismissed and put into the reserves.